Stephanie Rochon, a TV news anchor at WTVR in Richmond, has died at the age of 50. She has been off the air since August battling bile duct cancer. She was remembered as a person who warmly greeted fans on the street or passionately advocated awareness of breast cancer, a disease her mother survived, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The report added that Reba Hollingsworth, her best friend and colleague at WTVR, said Rochon “was genuine. She didn’t put up a front of ‘let me show you what it’s like to be a news lady.’ She’s just natural. And it comes from the heart.”
Close to Rochon’s heart was Buddy Check 6, her monthly report on breast health information and breast cancer that garnered her the American Cancer Society’s Regional Media Award, continued the report; which added that the monthly segment spotlighted women on the front lines of the breast cancer battle. Rochon worked especially hard to reach people in Richmond’s underprivileged communities, since black women are more likely to die from the disease than those of other racial and ethnic groups.
A native of Tacoma, Wash., she was raised in a military family and grew up traveling across the country and overseas. She graduated from Louisiana State University before launching her career, first in radio before moving to television. She worked as a reporter and anchor in Austin, Texas, before joining WTVR in 1999.
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